It's the first time the Jamaican bobsled team will compete in the games since 2002. The invitation came after Watts accumulated enough points in lower-tier races in North America to qualify.

"Oh, man, it's really overwhelming," Watts said Monday in a telephone interview. "I'm really happy. I have the whole entire world behind us. The Jamaica bobsled team is very popular, but when I see and hear that the whole entire world, even the Middle East — I mean, really, there's a place in the Middle East that calls me and I don't even know its name — we have fans from so far away. For a little tiny island, it's so emotional."

Watts said Saturday in an interview with The Associated Press that the team had qualified but was unsure about its ability to participate because of funding. He estimated he needed up to $80,000 to make the trip.

Much of that concern went away when Jamaican Olympic officials announced Monday they and the Sochi Organizing Committee would cover all travel costs for the team.

Watts said he is still doing additional fundraising for equipment, such as different kinds of runners for the sled. Teams typically have several sets of runners to choose from, depending on ice conditions.

"The money's not all covered yet," Watts said. "We're still hoping for help. But I am very excited that we're officially qualified."

It's been 12 years since Jamaica has had a sled in the Olympics, with Watts finishing 28th at the Salt Lake City Games with Lascelles Brown — now a key part of Canada's national team. Brown won a medal with the Canadians at the 2010 Vancouver Games, where the Jamaicans were hoping to compete but were again thwarted by funding issues.

Watts himself spent nearly a decade in retirement, no longer able to self-fund much of the team's operations. But the chance to race in Sochi brought him back.

"Once again, the pride of the country is with our athletes who continue to blaze the trail," the Jamaican Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Five people were officially nominated Monday to the team: Watts, Dixon, backup Wayne Blackwood, coach Thomas Samuel and mission chief Chris Stokes. Stokes was part of the groundbreaking team that represented Jamaica in bobsled at the 1988 Calgary Games. He returned to the Olympics in 1992, 1994 and 1998.